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American Morning

Aid Agencies Brace for Enormous Challenge; Al-Jazeera Receives Letter Reportedly from Bin Laden

Aired November 01, 2001 - 10:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get the latest overseas from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. CNN's Bill Delaney watching developments there for us today.

Bill, hello.

BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill, and thank you.

You know, most days here, Bill, in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad in the later afternoon, there is a press conference with the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan. And today, some interesting information from the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan. He was asked by reporters about persistent reports that a few Americans are under arrest in Afghanistan. The Taliban ambassador said yes, a few Americans are under arrest in Afghanistan. But after that, it all gets very murky indeed. He said, there are no details he could give as to who those Americans might be. He said that's all being investigated. Just not clear, he said, who the Americans are, why they were arrested, even when they were arrested.

Now the Pentagon has said that no U.S. military personnel are in custody in Afghanistan.

Bill, also at that press conference, the Taliban ambassador of Pakistan asked about possible negotiations with the United States. Now of course President George W. Bush has said repeatedly, there will be no discussions with the Taliban, but perhaps a glimpse to the Taliban's defiant mood in his response in the fourth week of bombing in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUHAMMED NACEM DINDAR, TALIBAN EMBASSY TRANSLATOR: Resumption of talks does not depend on us. Our position is quite obvious. This is the Americans who are making oppressions on us. They have closed the door of negotiations, and they have denied negotiations in talks before. So there is no chance of negotiations. As far as they're concerned, you can contact them to express their own views.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DELANEY: Here in Pakistan, another indication of the government's continuing concern over the uneasiness and unrest among many Pakistanis about the continued bombing. Pakistan banned all public rallies. No gathering of any kind allowed, the government says, if they can lead to any kind of disruption.

Now the government in the past has sent down edicts like this and not particularly followed through on them, but perhaps a sense of how serious the government is this time. Last night, in the middle of the night, the acting president of the largest party in Pakistan was detained, taken into custody. This particular political party had not taken a stand on the bombing in Afghanistan. But it had said would take part in scheduled road blockages late next week, which called as a protest throughout Pakistan by a coalition of primarily religious parties here.

Back to you, Bill.

HEMMER: Interesting development, knowing how critical the protests on the ground may or may not be.

Bill Delaney in Islamabad. Thanks, Bill.

Back in this country, the Pentagon indicated yesterday they dropped more than a million daily rations to refugees and people in need of food on the ground. It's a difficult job.

How do the agencies get that needed food and medicine on the ground?

Joie Chen joining us now with a look on that front.

Joie, good morning.

JOIE CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.

When the campaign began, there were dire predictions that this really could turn into a refugee crisis of enormous proportions, putting more than a million people on the move. Aid agencies brace for an enormous challenge, which as you noted, Bill, made an already difficult situation, helping those on the move, even more difficult. Mercy Corps, that aid agency has been in Afghanistan for 15 years now doing work.

George Devendorf, our guest this hour, recently left Pakistan. He is soon to go back.

Good morning, George. Nice to see you. Appreciate you being with us.

GEORGE DEVENDORF, MERCY CORPS: Good morning.

CHEN: I wonder if you could talk to us about this. Has this lived up to worst expectations of what would happen?

DEVENDORF: It's really hard to say. As you pointed out earlier, we have not as of yet seen the massive numbers of people on the move that many agencies were anticipated. But in many respects that quite worrisome. We're concerned about two different groups inside of Afghanistan today. One of them are essentially families that may well be stranded, families that effectively are unable to move out of their areas, primarily rural areas outside of Afghanistan, for a number of reasons. Many of them may simply be too poor at the moment, without the resources necessary to pick up and move in search of food, and water and international assistance. These people, particularly with winter fast approaching, are particularly vulnerable.

The second group, are those who have already been displaced, the million or so Afghans who were displaced prior to September 11th. We have a generally good idea of where they are.

But again, these families have already come to the end of their ropes and are heavily dependent on international assistance.

CHEN: There hasn't been a great deal of videotape, a lot of TV pictures showing us what's going on with the refugees. But there is a little bit. We're looking at some here.

This is from the Makaki (ph) refugee camp, which I understand close to border with Iran on the south -- I guess that would be the southeastern -- southwestern corridor of the country. I would have somehow figured that I would be seeing tent camp upon tent camp, full of people, teaming with people, at a point like this, this far into the campaign. Why haven't I seen that?

DEVENDORF: Well, I think several reasons. first and foremost, as you know, the borders around Afghanistan remain closed, and word of that has certainly gotten around inside Afghanistan, and I think has deterred many families from trying to move toward borders and to cross over those borders.

Secondly, as I mentioned before, many families simply don't have the wherewithal to move inside the country. It costs money to move. Fuel prices have gone up dramatically. So for many families, that may simply not be an option.

CHEN: So some people are just staying in their houses, or staying...

DEVENDORF: In their home areas, in their communities. Again, we are talking about, by and large, very rural, sometimes remote areas. It's difficult to arrange transportation out of those areas, long distances to be traveled, and let's keep in mind, that there has been considerable breakdown in law and order in many areas around Afghanistan. So for many families, it may simply not seem safe to them to pick up and move.

CHEN: Is it also possible that they understand that the U.S. airstrikes are aimed at particular military targets or training camp targets, not really at them, at positions in the cities, and maybe they're just better off, however hard it is, in Kandahar or in Kabul, to just stay home.

DEVENDORF: We've heard that as well. And again, I think it's important to keep in mind that there is, throughout Afghanistan and well before September 11th, a very high ambient level of poverty throughout Afghanistan. So many of these families may well be content to try to ride it out.

The concern is that following three years of drought, the ongoing conflict now, and with winter fast approaching, that many of these families will simply not be able to make through the winter without help, and in some areas as the snows come, they may be cut off from aid agencies trying to reach them as well.

CHEN: I want to quickly just look at a couple of illustrations we have of some of the ways that we're able -- that the aid agencies have been able, at least in the past, to try and reach into Afghanistan and bring aid in. Just looking at the border regions, some of aid coming from Tajikistan down into Afghanistan. Are those still avenues that can come in, at least into the Northern Alliance- held areas, George?

DEVENDORF: They are. In fact, aid agencies like Mercy Corps are exploring multiple avenues, from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan, all the bordering countries. These efforts, though, continue to be complicated by the fact that many of the nations surrounding Afghanistan continue to impose very tight control over their borders, not only in terms of allowing aid to crossover them freely to get into Afghanistan, but also in terms of allowing Afghans -- I should say not allowing Afghans the ability to cross those borders and become refugees.

CHEN: The particular situation on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, In fact, for some of the Pashtun tribes, I understand that they sort of regard this dividing line between the countries as being kind of irrelevant. Their tribal sort of area reaches all the way around there.

DEVENDORF: That's true. That said, we've not seen a large number of Afghans moving across the border into Pakistan since September 11th for a variety of reasons. One, the border remains officially closed. Secondly, there are concerns that in different areas the Taliban may be discouraging families from moving, and in some cases, not allowing them to move freely. So again, that's a continuing concern.

CHEN: George, I am afraid we have to leave there. I know this discussion will continue, and I know you are your back soon to Pakistan to continue aid effort there. George Devendorf is with Mercy Corps International.

If you'd like to know more about the refugee situation, you can check out CNN.com. You can learn more about the plight of the refugees. You'll find detailed maps there depicting what's been going on. CNN.com -- the AOL keyword for that is CNN -- Bill.

O'BRIEN: Joie, thank you.

As been reported for the past few days, CNN's Nic Robertson, one of about a half a dozen Western journalists who have allowed into certain parts of Afghanistan, specifically the southern area, know as Kandahar, the town there.

Nic Robertson now by videophone with some developing news at this time.

Nic, what do you have for us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, from the Al- Jazeera news organization who have an office both here in Kandahar and also Kabul. They say that their Kabul office today received a hand- delivered letter from Osama bin Laden. Now they say they believe the letter is authentically from Osama bin Laden. They say the signature on that letter is a signature they've received before, and that's verified by documents that have been produced in the World Trade Center trial.

Now this letter that comes from Osama bin Laden says that the Muslims of Afghanistan are being killed. And that Pakistan at this time is aligning itself under the Christian banner. And the letter says that President Bush is at the head of that Christian banner. The letter also says that it calls, quoting from the Koran, calls for Muslim unity, that Muslims are brothers, and that Muslims should support their brothers.

It also says that the killing of Muslims is very costly thing. That it is dividing the world and into two communities, those under the Christian -- those under President Bush, and those that are fighting and those that are under the Muslim banner. The letter that Al-Jazeera received today, they believe, is authentically a letter from Osama bin Laden -- Bill.

HEMMER: Nic, when was the last time we heard any correspondence, even through Osama bin Laden or people working for him, or the Al- Jazeera network? Give us a perspective -- oh, that's a shame.

Obviously, the connection there from Southern Afghanistan a bit difficult. Nic Robertson by way of videophone.

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